SPD: New tactics among Moria migrants

AOn Monday, the deputy head of the SPD, Serpil Midyatli, softened the public dispute. Now is not the time to “point to one or the other,” he said in front of the Willy Brandt House, where the party leadership met. The SPD wants to find a way out of the emergency together with others in the dispute over the Moria migrants. You are here today “to be part of the solution.”

The observation is remarkable. Because last week, the party leadership had escalated the dispute over the admission of migrants from the Greek island of Lesbos. Shortly after the Moria field caught fire, Social Democrats at the federal and state levels hardened the tone.

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The main critic was Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), whom SPD President Saskia Esken and the SPD parliamentary group accused in particular of inaction. The Social Democrats observed with horror that initially only the number of 400 unaccompanied migrant minors who were to be taken to Germany and other EU countries was in the room.

In Germany there are “numerous states and municipalities that are ready to take in the refugees from Moria immediately,” said the leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Rolf Mützenich. The resistance of the Minister of the Interior, Seehofer, to this offer was already incomprehensible. “Any further waiting threatens to cost human lives.”

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The party’s leader, Esken, accused the interior minister of a “blockade” and even threatened to convene a coalition committee if “he did not move.” Seehofer must allow the federal and state governments to accept additional migrants, partisan circles said. It should also convene an emergency meeting of the EU interior ministers to achieve a distribution of the migrants. Briefly there was a strong coalition dispute in the room.

“As SPD, we deliberately do not give any numbers”

At the beginning of the new week, this rhetoric is no longer heard. On Monday lunchtime, the party executive approved a document that still requires “constant action”, but now there is no hard-hitting charge. A solution must be found by Wednesday, said SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz, in cooperation with the Union.

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One explanation for the new peace in the grand coalition is the developments in the CDU and CSU. One observes with satisfaction in the SPD that something is moving here. In the talks, the Social Democrats refer to the members of the Union who, in a letter to the Chancellor, ask for the continued admission of migrants, and the statements of the CSU leader, Markus Söder, that he also wants to admit more people.

“Right now a lot is happening,” says internal SPD politician Ute Vogt. It is a good sign that the voices of those in the Union who wanted to host more people are increasing. Now it depends on the order of magnitude. “As the SPD, we deliberately do not give numbers, but we think we could also accept refugees in the four-digit range.” The will of the municipalities and states is there.

On Monday, government spokesman Steffen Seibert announced that the federal government intended to make a “substantial” contribution to the reception of more refugees. Consequently, no more lines of conflict are expected here.

While Esken threatened, Scholz was already further away

Another explanation for the now calmer tone of the Social Democrats is the fact that not all share the line of confrontation of the party leader. Last week it became clear that chancellor candidate Scholz, of all people, supported the federal government’s commitment to initially host 400 minor immigrants in various EU countries. He was “happy” with this first step, Scholz said Thursday night. This would have to be followed by others.

Obviously, this was agreed with the federal Minister of the Interior, Seehofer, who announced the next day that he wanted to take one more step in the families. This approach was discussed with Merkel, but also “to a great extent” with the vice chancellor, Seehofer said. When asked, Scholz did not contradict this representation.

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So while Esken put a coalition committee in the room, government members Scholz and Seehofer apparently already agreed on solutions.

The demand to allow the federal states to host migrants on their own initiative is not necessarily supported in the federal states themselves by prominent social democrats. Leading politicians point out that this could lead to further injustices because migrants are treated differently. For example, those who enter through a state admissions program generally receive an immediate residence permit. Those who enter through the federal program, instead, go through a regular asylum procedure.

So it happens that in the document now adopted by the SPD party executive, only milder formulations can be found. What is now called for in the first place is “concrete help on the spot”, in “close cooperation with the Greek government”. In particular, the “technical assistance organization career possibilities” (THW) should be used. The TSC is already on its way and is providing adequate help. Therefore, it is not a requirement that is still controversial.

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Second, there is a demand to use the “willingness of many federal states and municipalities to accept.” Distributing 400 unaccompanied children alone to various EU countries and bringing 150 of them to Germany is “completely insufficient”. What is needed now is a federal admission program that offers “a significant proportion of these refugees quickly, organizes and controls admission, protection and prospects.” The Ministry of the Interior is already working on another recording.

Thirdly, it must be about “finally putting together the idea of ​​a European asylum policy based on solidarity”. The federal interior minister, Seehofer, is also trying to find a European solution. The EU Commission has already announced that it will present a corresponding proposal by the end of the month. In this case too, the SPD is therefore raising a demand that is largely consensus within the Union.